Fear Of Unisex Bathrooms Doomed Era

FLORIDA HISTORY

When the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution in 1972 and sent it to the states for ratification, it looked like a sure thing. States lined up to approve the amendment.

In Florida, the House quickly gave its overwhelming approval. But the session was coming to an end, and the Senate put off consideration until the next session.

It didn't seem to matter. What difference could a year make? Florida, which had failed to ever ratify the amendment giving women the right to vote, would certainly pass the ERA.

As it turned out, it did make a huge difference both in Florida and to the amendment.

After the Senate failed to pass the bill, opposition began to develop. Conservative groups claimed that the amendment would actually hurt women, lead to unisex bathrooms and force women to take part in combat. The claims were wrong, but legislators caved in as they began receiving thousands of letters demanding that they vote against the bill. Many of the letters weren't even from Florida.

By the time the 1973 session opened, the opposition was fierce. The House, which had passed the amendment by nearly 90 votes in 1972, rejected it by a 10-vote margin the following year.

The Senate did not consider the bill that year.

In 1974, the Senate considered the matter first. State Sen. Dempsey Barron was the dominant force in the Senate, and he was opposed to the amendment. He worked behind the scenes for its defeat. It failed to pass 21-19.

In 1975, the amendment came up in both the House and Senate. In the House it passed by a three-vote margin. But in the Senate the amendment had lost ground. It failed by four votes.

There was no ERA vote in 1976. In 1977, the House was ready once again to approve the measure. Florida had become a crucial state for ERA. The amendment had been approved by 35 states, just three short of the number needed for approval. There was intense pressure on the Senate to pass the amendment, but it failed by two votes.

The amendment was not considered in 1978. Again in 1979 it was considered by both the House and the Senate. The House again passed the measure, but the Senate was deeply divided. The vote was familiar. A loss by two votes. It was the last time both houses of the Legislature voted on the amendment.

In 1982 the Senate again defeated the amendment, and the House never voted on it. Time ran out on the Equal Rights Amendment.